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US-China Relations - 165. page

Qiao Liang: The U.S. is “Containing China by Agents”

Xinhua recently published a series of discussions by China scholars, the armed forces, and think tanks on international issues. Qiao Liang, an Admiral, a professor at the Air Force Command College, and Vice Secretary General of the government think tank National Security Policy Reseach Commission, reportedly talked about the U.S. containment of China.

“As the U.S. is declining and its power is weakening, power vacuums have emgerged in the international arena. The U.S. wants us to fill some of the vacuums, but not all. In places where the Americans do not want us to fill the power vacuum, they will create some powers to fill it. I call it ‘containment by agent’. … In issues like the South China Sea and the Sino-Indian border, the Americans roped in India and the Southeast Asian countries to produce a possibility of ‘containment by agent.’ As Americans have engaged in proxy wars in the past, I expect that the U.S. will use agents to contain China.

Source: Xinhua, February 2, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-02/02/content_12920311.htm

Global Times: 96% of Netizens Back Sanction Policy against the U.S.

A survey shows that 96% of Chinese Internet users (among 12,661 survey participants) support punitive sanctions against the U.S. in response to the Obama administration’s Taiwan arms sale decision, according to the official newspaper Global Times.

One netizen commented that an effective use of sanctions is necessary as “protests and condemnation” are not enough to deter the U.S. Another said, “If (the Chinese government) doesn’t take real sanctions, the U.S. will not have its economic interests hurt and its inveterate disease cured.” Quite a few suggested to punish U.S. companies that have a large China market, such as Boeing and Otis.

Lu Minghua, a Nanjing University scholar, said in an interview that China should learn from the U.S., which quite often “waves the stick of sanctions” in Sino-U.S. trade.

Source: Global Times, February 5, 2010
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Taiwan/2010-02/710235.html

Xinhua: 2010 Security Situation for China Complex

Xinhua reports that a Chinese military commentator predicts the continuing trend of China’s rise and gain in international influence in 2010. Peng Guangqian also predicts that the national security environment for China will continue to improve. He states, if the security situation in 2009 was “difficult,” the security situation in 2010 will be “complex,” notably, “diversified, varied, complex and uncertain.”

Source: Xinhua, January 29, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-01/29/content_12898656.htm

China Changing the Rules of the Dalai Lama Game

The Sino-US conflict has reached new heights, with the “Dalai Lama issue” escalating into more than just a squirmish between the two countries, according to the Global Times. The Global Times article suggested that any meeting between the American President Obama and the Dalai Lama this month would draw attention to and emphasize the Western and Chinese ideological point of view.  

The paper quotes expert opinions, "It could be the last straw that collapses the Sino-US relationship, or Obama might “take it easy” and return to the Sino-US relationship after making his point of  “not yielding to China.”  


Whatever the cause of Obama giving China the cold shoulder, China is putting its foot down and won’t return to business as is. China is in the process of changing the rules of the game. In the past, China gave only lip service, unsupported by actual action, when the U.S. sold weapons to Taiwan and met with the Dalai Lama. This time China is truly protesting and taking countermeasures.

Source: Global Times, February 3, 2010
http://world.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-02/708072.html

Xinhua Commentary Faults U.S. for Internet Freedom Double Standard

Among an array of negative Chinese official media responses to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech on Internet freedom, one Xinhua article blames the U.S. for applying a “double standard.” 

The January 22 commentary titled “Don’t Practice a Double Standard on ‘Internet Freedom’” accused the U.S. government of censoring the free flow of information. It gave examples including the “Patriot Act,” U.S. national security agencies monitoring and cracking down on Internet terrorist information, and U.S.-based software to filter child pornography information. 
In June 2009, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ordered the creation of a new military cyber command that will coordinate the Pentagon’s efforts to defend its networks and conduct cyberwarfare. The initiative is used by the article to declare the U.S. as the “base camp” for Internet hackers. 
Source: Xinhua, January 23, 2010 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-01/23/content_12861105.htm

People’s Daily on Information Freedom in the U.S.

An opinion article published in the official People’s Daily on January 22 attacked the U.S. version of “Information Freedom.” 

Titled “Take a look at Information Freedom in the U.S.,” the article asked, “What is the so-called free flow of information? Is it something without restriction, the best and the most free? Has the U.S. achieved that?” 
“What’s behind the so-called information freedom of the U.S. is its blatant political motive. Where did the continuous domestic turmoil in Iran after the elections come from? It was because the U.S. launched an Internet war: Youtube videos and Twitter rumors drove a wedge between conservatives and reformists, changing patterns to incite the Iranian people, and resulting in large-scale bloodshed. If the U.S. really wants to pursue a free flow of information, why did Microsoft issue a high-profile announcement last year to stop MSN services in five so-called ‘hostile’ countries including Cuba?” 
Source: People’s Daily, January 22, 2010 
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/10828080.html

Don’t Let U.S. Health Care Reform Plague China

“When you borrow 1,000 yuan from a bank, the bank is your boss; when you borrow 100 billion yuan from a bank, you are the boss of the bank. This is the ‘horrific’ financial balance between the U.S. and China,” commented a People’s Daily opinion on January 6, 2010. 

“China, the largest foreign debt holder of the U.S., has been accumulating U.S. Treasury bonds in recent years.” “At the critical moment of health care reform, the U.S. will certainly ask China to continue purchasing U.S. debts.” “As a matter of fact, the domestic struggle of U.S. health care reform has impacted China’s interests. Last summer, Obama won support from labor unions at the cost of Chinese businesses by imposing a tariff on tire imports. We have enough reason to believe that, in the future, Washington will sacrifice China on issues of trade, climate change, human rights, and arms sales to Taiwan.”
Source: People’s Daily, January 6, 2010
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/10714233.html

Chinese Youth: Hillary Clinton Pushing US Supremacy

The People’s Website republished a China Youth commentary about Hillary Clinton’s “Remarks on Internet Freedom” speech in support of Google’s challenging the Chinese government. The article quoted Clinton’s words “And censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company from anywhere. In America, American companies must make a principled stand. This needs to be part of our national brand.” It ridiculed Clinton for raising a dispute between one company and its host country’s management to the “national brand” level under the “Internet Freedom” label.

The article claimed that the only reason for U.S. politicians to back Google is because Google has spent $3 million dollars on lobbying government officials.

“Ignoring ones country’s information monitoring, but criticizing China’s Internet management is a clear indication that the ‘Internet freedom’ under the U.S. ‘national brand’ is simply U.S. Secretary Clinton’s boasting about U.S. Internet strategy. It represents nothing more than taking advantage of U.S. technology, capital, and market dominance in an effort to sell U.S. ‘universal values.’ The intended result is to gain commercial, cultural, and political interests for the U.S.

Sources:
1. People’s Website, January 25, 2010
http://media.people.com.cn/GB/40606/10832402.html
2. Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Speech Titled “Remarks on Internet Freedom,”
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/01/135519.htm